Japan suspends annual whale hunt

The Australian government said on Thursday they were not satisfied with Japan's suspension
of whaling in Antarctic waters and vowed to continue their separate campaigns to force
a permanent end to the hunt. Japan's government yesterday announced it had suspended
its annual whale hunt due to repeated harassment of its whalers by Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society ships.

It said the suspension began February 10 and would last until
conditions were deemed safe.

Patrick Ramage, Director of the International
Fund for Animal Welfare’s Global Whale Programme, said: "We hope this is a first sign
of Japanese government decision makers recognizing there is no future for whaling
in the 21st Century and that responsible whale watching, the only genuinely sustainable
use of whales, is now the best way forward for a great nation like Japan."